Great Hike; or, The Pride of the Khaki Troop

by Captain Alan Douglas

"Hope they'll let me fasten my old wheel behind, somehow?" remarked Phil; and Elmer assured him that that had all been arranged for.

So leaving them, with an exchange of cheers, Elmer rode on.

One by one he came across Jack, Ty, George, and the Fairfield fellow, Angus McDowd, the latter still in company with young Robbins. And every one of them expressed the greatest satisfaction when they heard how Mr. Garrabrant did not mean that they should spend the night away from home but would speedily be along with a number of cars calculated to carry them back to Hickory Ridge.

Even Tom Cropsey was located, he having taken refuge in the branches of a tree, because of a farmer's vicious dog that kept barking savagely not far away; and Tom happened to be particularly timid about strange dogs. His wheel being useless, and himself too cramped for walking, he had "camped" after his own fashion.

Thus all were restored to their homes that night save the other Fairfield boy who had sprained his ankle and was in bed at the tavern; Matty, who declined to be brought back until he had finished his task; and Elmer's two companions, Toby and Nat, with their unreliable motorcycles.

Of course it was well along into the morning before the last automobile reached Hickory Ridge with the balance of the contestants; and as nearly everybody had long before gone to bed, the victor was not received with any great acclaim; at least the factory whistles were not blown, nor the church bells rung. But a few of the faithful scouts, who were bound to make a night of it, had waited up at headquarters; and these fellows gave three hearty cheers when they saw the long-legged Lil Artha step stiffly from the leading car.

When, on the following night, a regular meeting of the troop was held, every fellow made sure to be in attendance; for it had been announced that the several contestants in the great hike, as well as the five who had gone forth on bicycles and motorcycles, intended giving a detailed report of what adventures had happened on the way; and it was expected that there would be some stories worth listening to.

The indignation of the boys was intense when they heard how those Fairfield four had tried to block Lil Artha's game and, by forcing him to ride, render his claim to be a contestant under the rules null and void.

"But listen, fellows," said Elmer, who presided in place of the scout master, called out of town on sudden business; "don't be too quick to blame the Boy Scouts of Fairfield for that rascally piece of business. Matt Tubbs called me up on the phone this afternoon and wanted me to express the indignation of himself and his comrades over the matter. He declared that they had not the faintest indication of the affair; and that it was engineered entirely by some 'outcasts,' who, having declined to subscribe to the twelve cardinal principles of the new movement, were doing everything in their power to wreck the troop over there."

"Well, they won't succeed, that's all," declared Lil Artha, confidently; "because my father says he knows that the best people of both Fairfield and Cramertown are just daft over the change that has taken place among the boys there ever since the scouts were organized, and that they mean to stand back of the movement through thick and thin. They say the organization of the scouts was the finest thing that ever happened to Fairfield."